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31 January 2013

Today I have some stamping to show you all! Yep, I am finally branching into the world of stamping at long last. I received this nail art stamping kit from the Born Pretty store on Friday so I thought I might as well give it a go straight away.

The Butterfly floral nail art kit comes with three little stamping polishes, a metal scrapper, a stamper and 2 stamping plates. m42 is the plate on the left and m68 is on the right. The plates are chosen at random.

I started off with a base of Nails Inc Old Park lane. A gorgeous metallic rose gold polish. It's almost a one coater and perfect for stamping but I think it looks just as good as a base. Then using the born pretty kit I stamped on Catrice Sold out forever (new version) onto each nail from the m68 plate.

I really like this stamp in particular. It very easy to work with and it stamps perfectly. I managed to smudge my middle and pinky nail with the topcoat which was a bit annoying but overall I love the design. I have used all of the stamps and they all seem to be etched quite well. The nail polish included with the kit has quite a chemically smell to it so I didn't use them indoors. You need a well ventilated room!

The Born pretty store is a perfect starter kit for stamping. It has pretty much everything you could need to start stamping and the plates have some really pretty designs.

I have a coupon code for 10% off if any of you would like to get a nice little discount off if your Born Pretty Store nail art goodies here:

Let me know what you think! More stamping or should I stick to freehand nail art? :P

30 January 2013

Only a small post today because this manicure did not want to be photographed! I really loved the end result though. I had a day off so I started playing around with some Sinful Colors polish and my striping tape. I started off with a base of Sinful Color Timbleberry. Then I striped of an accent nail and painted on Sinful Colors Savage. I free handed the tips at the last minute.

I'm really pleased with the end result! I love the effect of the striping tape. I think the colours worked well against each other. I want to recreate the entire manicure with the striping tape effect but it's really hard to get it right :P

29 January 2013

I thought I'd pop up this release from Cuticura seeing as there has been an awful lot of viruses and bugs going around. With all the flooding that's been going on driving up waste onto the streets it's really important to have some anti-bacterial gels and wipes on the go at all times to avoid catching anything bad that's been on the go.

"Recently
Ireland has been struck with the dreaded vomiting bug with has caused half of
the country to go into hibernation during its on average 10 hour visit and now
we are all smack bang in the middle of our annual flu season! You may think
that if you stay clear of anyone you are safe, but in fact it can be passed on
by touching surfaces and objects that a contaminated person has previously come
into contact with, so therefore it seems pretty impossible to avoid getting
ill.

We all
tend to associate germs with the bathroom but in fact some keyboards were found
to have five times as much bacteria as your average toilet seat. The same goes
for your mobile phone, yes the phone that goes with you into restaurants, gyms and
even to bed is far from clean with bacteria such as E.coli which is associated
with stomach upsets. There is no need to throw your phone out the window in
fear of contracting the virus as Cuticura has a range of products that will
fulfil your hand sanitising needs, the Cuticura
Anti-Bacterial Hand wash (€2.99) kills 99.9% of bacteria and unlike any
other hand wash available in Ireland it prevents reinfection for up to3 hours, essential for keeping hands clean and protected from
unwanted nasties.If
you’re on the go and can’t get soap and water to clean your hands these little
lifesavers are a must for your handbag, the CuticuraAnti Bacterial Hand
Serum (€1.99 50ml or €2.99 200ml) will prevent your hands from reinfection
for up to 8 hours with exclusive
Advanced Anti Bacterial Technology and creating an invisible soft-skin glove,
giving you the longest ever protection for your hands. Alternatively try the convenient
Cuticura Anti Bacterial Hand Wipes (€1.49).

Tips to
follow if you are unlucky enough to obtain the bug:

·Wash
your hands regularly after using the toilet and when touching food.

·If
you are sick you should remain off work until you have been well for 48 hours.
Children should also be kept out of school/crèche for 48 hours.

·There
is no specific treatment for norovirus apart from sipping plenty of clear
fluids, such as water or flat lemonade.

Next
time you’re on the bus into town or using the computers in your local internet
cafe make sure you have a Cuticura to hand!

Cuticura is available from department stores, supermarkets and
pharmacies nationwide from €1.49"

Definitely check this brand out asap. I am a huge fan of their cucumber and mint anti-bacterial hand gel. It really leaves your hands feeling clean and smelling good.

28 January 2013

I started of with a base of barry m Denim which is a gorgeous one coater. It looks exactly like denim! Really like this polish. The green on my middle finger is Catrice Acid/dc (love it!) The rest of the details are done using acrylic paint. This was actually fairly hard to do! I ended up taking it off straight after because I wasn't happy with the way it looked. I had to use a white base behind each of the heads to make them pop out because I used such a dark basecolour. Looking at it now in fairness it looks grand like but at the time I was raging :P I'm surprised I even bothered to take pictures but I think it's good to show the manicures that didn't really do it for you at the time. No one is perfect and even the best nail polish/ nail art bloggers makes mistakes (I'm not saying I'm one of the best by any means but ya get my drift!)

That's all there is to it for today! If ye have heard of Invader Zim tell me yer favourite Gir quote down below :D

Doesn't the third one look a lot like China Glaze Kalahari kiss? That's quite interesting!
Barry M are also releasing some textured effect polishes again in beautifully bright shades. I am more attracted to bright colours so I think these will be a hit.

Kingsland Road(Pink) TNP3, Ridley Road (Green)TNP4 ,Atlantic Road (Blue) TNP1 and Station Road (Yellow) TNP2, . Retail price is £3.99/ €5.49The nail polishes are set to be released on the Superdrug and Barry M website on February 13th and Boots on February 20th. Will you be picking up any of these gorgeous shades? Cuti-CLUE-les

25 January 2013

I'm splitting up my favourites of 2012 into four "Favourites" groups- Nail polish, indie nail polish, Nail art and favourite beauty/skincare products. The posts would be far too long otherwise! Up first are my favourite nail polish picks of 2012...

1) Essence Grumpy from the Limited Edition Snow White collection

A gorgeous deep royal blue. Very bright and eye-catching to say the least! I'm sure there are loads of dupes around but this blew me away this year. More about this polish HERE

2) Sally Hansen Gilded Lily.

I fell in love with this shade during the last few weeks of December but I used it in a tonne of nail art designs and I wore it on its own for a good week. More on this polish HERE

3) Essence Hello Holo

Probably the most used polish I own. I've gone through half a bottle so far and I already bought a back up just in case. Amazing on its own and as a topper. More on this polish HERE

4)Catrice Raspberry fields forever

I love this polish. It's a gorgeous squishy raspberry nail polish. It has a great formula and it is as cheap as chips. More on this polish HERE

5) China Glaze Kalahari Kiss from the On Safari Collection

I have a new found love for China Glaze. Kalahari kiss is such a unique polish. Very pretty and it makes a great base for nail art but looks perfectly striking on its own. More on this polish HERE

A surprise favourite for me. I'm not a huge pink fan but this nail polish really stood out and caught my eye. Awful stupid name though. More on this polish HERE

7) China Glaze Exotic Encounters From the On Safari Collection

Teal is one of my faourite colours. I have a few favourite teal polishes but I think this trumps them by being a creme (my favourite finish) I loved every second of wearing this. More on this polish HERE

8) China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy from the Poolside collection

This polish is as old as the hills but regardless I love a good coaral. Application is a whole other story but I love how bright and eye-catching it is. It lasted well on the nail and it will burn your retinas with neon goodness :) More on this polish HERE

9) Catrice Pimp my Shrimp

Another gorgeous coral that I discovered this year. Pimp my shrimp has an adorable name, looks gorgeous on and lasts incredibly well. Completely unique to my collection. More on this polish HERE

10) Barry M Blueberry Ice-cream

I only realised how much I used this polish when I looked back over all the swatches from this year. It popped up time and time again and I really fell for the nail polish on its own when I was doing nail art for a Tommy Tiernan gig I went to in December. Gorgeous. More on this polish HERE

Were any of these polishes in your favourites too? Going through other bloggers favourites' I haven't really noticed any one else mentioning a lot of these polishes which is a shame because I am thrilled with them.

23 January 2013

I've had these swatches of Julep Daisy for ages so I thought I would pop them up now. Obviously I cannot get Julep easily in Ireland but I did manage to win 2 in a giveaway last year. I didn't know you could buy them separately but apparently you can. Now whether or not I think they are worth the price is up for debate.

Julep Daisy is very sheer polish.which is fairly typical with yellow nail polishes. Daisy seems to be one of the worst yellow polishes I have tried so far unfortunately. In the bottle it is a gorgeous sunflower yellow but on the nail it looks like pus. Yup that's the best word I could find to describe it. That also sums up the formula quite nicely too. This is 3 coats and you can still see the nail . Dry time was just as bad. It took a while to dry so you'd need to layer this over a white or another yellow polish. Kind of defeats the point :P

From this alone I would not recommend Julep. The polish is not great at all and the formula only leads to frustration. In the bottle Daisy is gorgeous but on the nail it just looks dirty. Very disappointing.

20 January 2013

I have the NYC All day long Foundation in 737 classic ivory. I think this is a very good match for my skin tone. I've had quite a lot of breakouts recently and this foundation really helped to hide a lot of the damage. It has light-medium coverage which is nice so you don't look really plastered on during the day. The formula is very smooth and lovely to work with and it leaves a matte finish. I put it on with my fingers but a brush would probably work out better in my opinion.

I have combination skin but this covered it nicely. The redness of my blemishes wasn't covered entirely but it did make them less noticeable. It stayed on all day but my face was oily after a couple of hours again but as I said I do have oily skin so blotting sheets would quickly hide that. This foundation also contains vitamins A,C and E. Overall this is a great foundation for a brilliant price.

NYC Smooth Skin Mousse foundation €3.99 for 14g

I love the packaging for this product. Again it has a very smooth texture and gives really nice coverage. This however, stayed matte for far longer. Around 4 hours give or take. It covered my pores incredibly well (which is some task I have to admit!)

The only problem I had with this is the fact it highlight the dry areas of my skin. Again you can probably rectify this with a good primer and moisturiser underneath. A little goes a long way too so it will last a while. I have the shade natural beige which looks daunting in the packaging but it blends out perfectly. The smooth skin mousse foundation is enriched with Pro-vitamin B5 which claims to reduce water lost through the skin keeping it plump. It makes your skin lovely and soft.

NYC Natural Matte foundation €3.49 for 30ml

Huge fan of the NYC Natural matte foundation too. Great formula and so easy to apply. I prefer the pump but at least you can cut off the top to get the very last drop out :P It gave a lovely matte look to my skin which I like a lot. Especially with an oily T-zone. It still looked good after a couple of hours. I'm not so sure about the 8 hour shine free claim but if you have normal skin then I'm sure it'll last on you. I love the natural finish. Great for during the day. I have the shade 001 ivory.

NYC Skin Matching foundation €3.99 for 30ml

Not my favourite one of the four I'm afraid The coverage is light so the redness on my face was just as noticeable with it on than without it. I have the shade 685 fair which is still a little bit too dark for me. Just a tad but enough for me to be a bit wary of it.Although application was grand on it and it was easy to spread about it just didn't work for me. It has a load of moisturisers, minerals and vitamins A,C and E in it which is great. Overall I don't think this one suited my temperamental skin.

Definitely a brand to try if you are looking for a new foundation. the quality is amazing for the price. The packaging is lovely and a little goes a long way.

19 January 2013

Today I have the Stylfile S-file to show ye. I remember when this first came out and everyone assumed it was just another gimmick product. I have to admit I thought the same until I tried it. I always have a problem getting the shape of my nails the right shape and it is really frustrating. Straight nail files are great but they tend to completely straighten out my nails while I prefer the to be more squoval in shape.

One side is rough with a smoothing, softer file on the other. The stylfile makes filing, a process I despise, far easier. I love the curved shape. It means I can get my desired shape without much effort. It's far easier to hold and it has a lovely design. The lovely people behind BeautyMatters.ie sent the Stylfile S-file along with the Stylfile emergency file. The emergency file is actually going towards a little giveaway I am planning so if you want the chance to try this out then stay tuned :) Or if you are impatient and want to try it now you can both the Stylfile S-file and the emergency file for €5.95 each on Beautymatters.ie.

New nudes – with us for the very first time and the absolute eyelight. Six nude shades in one palette: subtle sand, delicate beige and brown in various facets. Some matt, some with a shimmer. The soft eye shadow texture with high pigmentation and colour dispersion creates natural-looking eye make-up, yet is also ideal for breathtaking smokey eye styles in the evening. With a practical double-ended applicator and stylish palette design… absolute CATRICE.

Thanks to the innovative applicator with premium bristles from Japan, application is simple and accurate with the Ultra Slim Eyeliner Pen. Its deep black colour is long-lasting yet easy to remove. For an extremely effective eyeliner look. Paraben free.

CATRICE Long Lasting Eye Pencil Waterproof €2.59 New

Long-lasting and waterproof. Highly pigmented, colour intense and with different effects, the Long Lasting Eye Pencil Waterproof is sure to make your eyes stand out from the crowd. Its smooth texture is particularly simple and accurate to apply. Easy to remove using eye make-up remover. Automatic pencil with a twist mechanism for the mine, includes a sharpener at the end of the pencil. Available in a total of eight colours.

CATRICE Prime And Fine Eyeshadow Base €4.49NEW

Perfectly primed. The soft, creamy texture of the Eyeshadow Base keeps eyeshadow in place, makes it last longer and prevents it from settling in the crease of your eyelid. It also enhances the colour intensity and luminosity of the eyeshadow. And the bonus: the Prime And Fine Eyeshadow Base makes every eyeshadow waterproof. Contains pampering vitamin E ingredients and comes in a premium glass container.

The giant – now also available in a waterproof version. For expressive XXL lash volume. The secret: the interaction of a unique formula and a specially developed conic shaped mega-brush. The fine tip of the brush defines each individual lash – from the inner to the outer edge of your lashes. The waterproof texture guarantees 24 hours of long-lasting, sensational volume.

CATRICE Lashes to Kill False Lashes Volume Mascara €4.49 NEW

Achieve a false lash effect with the latest addition to the successful Lashes to Kill Mascara range. Lash-lengthening and volumising fine nylon fibres create an amazing look with a true wow-effect. Thanks to a special formula, the fibres attach directly to the lashes and seals them. For a clearly visible false lash result and ultra-voluminous style. Risky moments are guaranteed.

CATRICE Allround Mascara Ultra Black €3.49 NEW

For beautiful lashes allround. The allrounder amongst our mascaras is now also available in Ultra Black with a deep-black carbon formula to ensure intense colour. The allround brush allows a simple and accurate application of colour for an expressive triple effect: more volume, more length and more curl.

CATRICE Waterproof Top Coat €4.99NEW

Your favourite mascara isn’t waterproof? We have the answer: this transparent, gel-like top coat formula seals any mascara and makes it waterproof without clumping. Easy to use thanks to the special fibre brush. Can be removed using waterproof eye make-up remover.

CATRICE INFINITE SHINE Lip Gloss €3.49NEW

The next generation of CATRICE lip gloss for intense shine and bright colours. Thanks to its moisturising formula, the Infinite Shine Lip Gloss guarantees gorgeous pampered lips without leaving behind a sticky sensation. Available in a large choice of 13 shades ranging from subtle to dramatic.

CATRICE BB Allround Foundation Multi-Benefit Make Up €6.49 NEW

Skin couture – with the allround talent BB foundation. It combines perfectly aligned face care and make-up benefits in just one product. The 6in1 BB Allround Foundation by CATRICE provides a flawless complexion. The effect: balancing as it moisturises and reduces shine at the same time. Correcting as it visibly minimalizes pores. Protecting thanks to the integrated UV filters. Illuminating with light-reflecting pigments for a radiant complexion. Covering for smooth-looking skin and pampering thanks to the moisturising almond oil. Ideal for dry and sensitive skin, but also for normal skin-types. With a sun protection factor of 30 as well as medium coverage, the BB Allround Foundation is a true multi-talent if you’re aiming for a smooth and fresh complexion without investing too much time! Available in four different shades. 30 ml.

CATRICE Camouflage Cream €3.49 NEW

A true must-have for a flawless complexion. The Camouflage Cream with a long-lasting texture blends perfectly with the skin for invisible correction. It reliably covers irregularities of the skin, pigmentation stains and red veins. The efficient Camouflage Cream offers a high coverage and can be kept in place with powder for a waterproof effect. Available in three different shades.

CATRICE Mattifying Oil Control Paper €3.29NEW

The Mattifying Oil Control Paper quickly absorbs excess sebum and frees your skin of shine without drying it out. Also ideal for on the go touch-ups without altering your make-up. Comes in a practical case with 50 sheets – perfect for slipping into your handbag.

I cannot wait to see the Nude palette and the BB cream in stores. I'll definitely be picking up the mattifying sheets. This is one of their best releases so far! Let me know what you are most looking forward to and I might pick an extra few things up ;)